Black folks are dealing with the aftermath of disaster once again following the fiery explosion at a small-town Louisiana lubricant plant that leaves residents grappling with toxic fallout. Unfortunately for residents of Roseland, relief might not be so quick to come for its residents.
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On Aug. 22, an explosion tore through Smitty’s Supply Inc., an automotive lubricant plant in Roseland, around 12:50 p.m. according to Louisiana State Police. The blast unleashed a fire so massive it rained oil across cars, homes, and schoolyards, forcing a mandatory one-mile evacuation and grounded flights within three miles.
No workers were reported injured—but the community was left choking under black smoke and watching chemical residue drip from the sky, per The Sun.
Per officials, no injuries have been reported to date. And while the EPA issued a statement saying “there is no indication of any imminent threat to public health from the soot or smoke residue deposited in the surrounding area,” the organization still urged residents not to come into direct contact with “areas of concentrated residue” out of an “abundance of caution.”
With President Donald Trump’s sweeping environmental rollbacks still shaping the nation’s protections, communities like Roseland — with a population of less than 900 that is majority Black — may be facing a long and uncertain road to recovery…and little federal support to guide them in the aftermath.
Residents remain worried about what’s next, and who will be held accountable.
“They don’t care about us,” local resident Tyreik Taylor told Capital B News. “There is no way people don’t get sick, because we need help over here and we’re not getting it.” Tayor, 26, had just punched out of work at the plant minutes before it went up in smoke and flames.
Residents were forced to leave homes, businesses, and routines behind as thick smoke and chemical residue blanketed the area. The evacuation order was lifted by Aug. 26, but many residents —many of whom live in poverty, per Capital B News — are still dealing with the aftermath and the lingering unease of living so close to a major industrial disaster.
“I’m probably already sick with something,” another local resident and former employee, Tevin Moore, 33, told the outlet. On Sunday (Aug. 31), Taylor and Moore were both laid off, in addition to hundreds of other workers from the same plant.
Per the outlet, both stated that they were offered about $250 in monthly severance.
Trump-era environmental rollbacks are hitting communities like Roseland hard. Back in 2019, the administration officially scrapped the Clean Water Rule, per the Virginia Conservation Network, cutting protections for countless streams and wetlands. In 2017, the Stream Protection Rule was rolled back, per the Southern Environmental Law Center, opening the door for more toxic wastewater to flow into public waterways.
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